Kuranda on your own?

[luv2ndhalf]

Can someone please share their experience visiting Kuranda? Is it far from the cruise terminal? Hard to get transportation? Thanks!

[possum52]

 

9 hours ago, luv2ndhalf said:

Can someone please share their experience visiting Kuranda? Is it far from the cruise terminal? Hard to get transportation? Thanks!

Kuranda is about 30 km from Cairns. As for transportation - the Kuranda train is popular and departs from Cairns Railway Station which is about a twenty minute walk from the Cruise Ship Terminal. You could hire a car or go on a ship's tour - Visiting Kuranda

 

[Gary72]

On 8/10/2022 at 7:47 PM, possum52 said:

 

Kuranda is about 30 km from Cairns. As for transportation - the Kuranda train is popular and departs from Cairns Railway Station which is about a twenty minute walk from the Cruise Ship Terminal. You could hire a car or go on a ship's tour - Visiting Kuranda

 

There is a cruise ship skyrail/train tour offered by the Kuranda skyrail we ebsite with pickup very close to ship.

[possum52]

6 minutes ago, Gary72 said:

There is a cruise ship skyrail/train tour offered by the Kuranda skyrail we ebsite with pickup very close to ship.

Could you post a link please? I can't find it.

[Gary72]

https://www.skyrail.com.au/plan/skyrail-kuranda-train/

[possum52]

3 hours ago, Gary72 said:

https://www.skyrail.com.au/plan/skyrail-kuranda-train/

Thank you, that sounds a good deal. It is not specifically a cruise ship excursion though. It is a general excursion for tourists to the area. You would need to make sure that you are back at the ship with plenty of time to spare.

[xxpinksaltxx]

I have visited Kuranda on our own (not while on a cruise). It's really beautiful and certainly worth the day trip we took Gold Class on the train to Kuranda and then took the sky rail back (note the skyrail and the train DO NOT depart and return from the same area), you will have to purchase a separate transfer. 

 

Would I do this on my own, while needing to get back to a cruise ship though? Absolutely not. If you have an overnight stop in Cairns, I would say no problem at all. However, we had our own nightmares just trying to get back to our car (even though we had pre-booked transfers as per the offer you posted). Be willing to pay for an uber back, as we did.  Also, if anything happens in Kuranda, you are a 40 minute drive back to Cairns, I would imagine a taxi or Uber to be quite slim in the area. 

 

I 100% recommend going to Kuranda, but wouldn't risk it on your own.

[Chiliburn]

On 8/11/2022 at 3:22 AM, luv2ndhalf said:

Can someone please share their experience visiting Kuranda? Is it far from the cruise terminal? Hard to get transportation? Thanks!

There’s also a cable car that runs to Kuranda. It’s a long way out of town but has a shuttle that runs from Cairns train station.
I believe the shuttle runs every 45 minutes and the station is about 15 -20 minutes walk from the cruise terminal.

https://www.skyrail.com.au

[sayaguru]

On 8/26/2022 at 3:10 PM, xxpinksaltxx said:

I have visited Kuranda on our own (not while on a cruise). It's really beautiful and certainly worth the day trip we took Gold Class on the train to Kuranda and then took the sky rail back (note the skyrail and the train DO NOT depart and return from the same area), you will have to purchase a separate transfer. 

 

Would I do this on my own, while needing to get back to a cruise ship though? Absolutely not. If you have an overnight stop in Cairns, I would say no problem at all. However, we had our own nightmares just trying to get back to our car (even though we had pre-booked transfers as per the offer you posted). Be willing to pay for an uber back, as we did.  Also, if anything happens in Kuranda, you are a 40 minute drive back to Cairns, I would imagine a taxi or Uber to be quite slim in the area. 

 

I 100% recommend going to Kuranda, but wouldn't risk it on your own.

What transfers are you talking about? 

We booked directly with Kuranda Rail. Included was transfer from close to the ship. They drove us to the cable car and we got the cable car up to Kuranda. The train tickets are included and got the train back at the allocated time.  You walk from the train station back to the ship (short walk). 

The only risk is if you don't get to the train station in time but it's exactly the same risk if you book a ship tour. 

Coral Princess don't leave until 8pm. 

[poppetts]

I have done the this trip a few times over the years and i would strongly suggest booking anything you do in Cairns as it sells out fast.